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Howard Hehrer said 07/02, 02:31 PM
As you mentioned, Philadelphia resigned forward Andre Igoudala. They return a slashing small forward who can do it all - except shoot. When you look at the 76ers, you get a team full of defense an athleticism. They have Dalembert in the middle rejecting shots and thieving rebounds. They have Andre Miller and Willie Green outside, and at power forward and underachieving Thaddeus Young. The addition of Josh Smith would be nice, but a larger issue that they need to address is shooting. Philadelphia has plenty of athletic defensive guys, but they do not have anyone who I would trust to step outside and hit a clutch three pointer.

No. A better decision would be for the 76ers to dip into free agency to pick up a perimeter threat and a solid power forward. Some good options to look at are Indiana's Kareem Rush, who would be a good value and who shot 38% behind the arc last season, James Posey, and Eddie House.

As far as their need at power forward, they should focus first on finding a shooter. If they have the cash after this, then the signing of Josh Smith should be considered. There are other effective solutions at the power forward that are less expensive.

Howard Hehrer said 07/02, 04:15 PM
I'm not putting Kareem Rush in a position to be in a starting rotation. Philadelphia's bench is shallow enough as it is, and signing a player like Smith adds nothing to that element. We saw last year how bad a lack of a true shooter killed the 76ers, and this will again be detrimental to a deep playoff run if it is not addressed.

If you look at the defensive-oriented teams of the past that won championships, all had a shooter, whether in the starting rotation or coming off of the bench. A good example of this is the Detroit Pistons. At the core of the team was a stingy defense, but they were also bolstered by the perimeter games of Joe Dumars and Isaiah Thomas. The Boston Celtics this year were a defensive team, but they had the outside stylings of Ray Allen, Eddie House, and James Posey. A team cannot win a title with no 3 point threats, and the 76ers are no exception.

Keeping a team one dimensional is a bad decision. Although they will have shut down defense, and some able slashers, they will not be able to hold down teams like Boston, and won't be able to score enough points against teams like Detroit.

Howard Hehrer said 07/02, 08:29 PM
these players are young and their offensive games will come.

No. no. no. You don't just go four seasons in the NBA and improve your shooting. You improve court awareness and intelligence. A player does not just 'improve' over 1 season to clutch 3 point status.

A guy by the name of Kyle Korver, maybe you heard of him. From what I hear, he's a pretty good shooter. It's pointless if he can't guard anybody.

You can't stereotype a perimeter player as a sloppy defender. Plenty of shooters are renowned for great defense as well. Rip Hamilton, Ray Allen, to name a few. On top of this, trading Kyle Korver was a weak decision. Sure the team got better, but this isn't attributed to that trade. The production of Philadelphia's core players went up, and so did win total. Many games were lost on account of poor shooting.

Also, there are things called 'examples'. This is what Kareem Rush was. I was pointing out they needed someone with Rush's three point prowless for their slashers to kick out to.

You don't just throw a bunch of guys on the floor with the same abilities and expect to win. You address the needs you are weakest in before blowing your budget on one guy.

Good TD